Jordan Beats Smart Gilas Pilipinas in Jones Cup 2011 To Grab Top Spot in The Standings
Jordan used their sharp play executions and sharp outside shooting in beating the very resilient Smart Gilas Pilipinas Team, 76-72. As a result, Gilas' flawless 2-0 win-loss record in the William Jones CUP 2011 is now tarnished with 1 loss courtesy of Jordan. Jordan on the other hand grabs the top spot of the team standings because of this win. They now have a 3-0 win-loss record.
From the first quarter up to the 4th quarter Jordan held on to the lead. They never gave the lead to Gilas, but the good thing was that the lead of Jordan was always manageable, its just that they had a better flow of offensive sets than Gilas in this game. Jordan's Abbas, Zaghab, Daghles, and Wright bombarded Gilas with their booming three pointers especially in the third and fourth quarters. When it comes to offensive execution of plays, Jordan is really one of the best in the current Jones Cup. If you're a coach, you should watch them play and for sure you'll learn a lot on how to properly run offensive plays. They're so smooth. I now believe in what Mr. Charles Tiu said that Jordan is deemed to be one of the strongest teams this year along with Iran and Korea and that they will have a hard time against them. Indeed they had a hard time against the dreaded Jordan team today. They need to have more discipline in their next meeting if ever Gilas will be able to reach the semi-finals.
If you'll ask me if Gilas can beat Jordan if in case they will see each other in the Finals of the Jones Cup, I'll definitely say YES, they can. I personally saw how good our team can be especially if they have few turnovers in a game against a quality team like Jordan. They even beat Jordan in the recently concluded FIBA Champions Cup 2011 which was held in Manila 2 months ago. The score back then was 76-74 in favor of Gilas. Gilas was well disciplined in that game. They had lesser turnovers than Jordan in that win in the Champions Cup.
This loss of Gilas should not lessen their confidence because they lost to a great team which is ranked number 32 in the world of basketball. They should hold their head up high especially when they face their next assignments, namely, Malaysia on August 9, tomorrow and Korea on August 10. Korea is also a strong team. They were able to beat Iran earlier today by a large margin.
Korea has been under the radar, not because they are weak but because they are secretly planning and preparing for these kinds of big time tournaments such as the Jones Cup. They are considered as the dark horse this year that's why Gilas should be wary of them especially on their go-to-guy TJ Moon who plays like Joe Johnson.
The Scores:
Jordan 76 - Zaghab 17, Daghles 16, Z.Abbas 14, Wright 12, Soobzokov 8, Ruqayah 4, AbuQoura 3, I.Abbaas 2.
Philippines 72 - Barroca 13, Douthit 10, Lutz 10, Baracael 10, Tiu 8, Hontiveros 7, Casio 6, Lassiter 4, Aguilar 2, Taulava 2.
Quarters: 21-18, 34-32, 56-53, 76-72
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